Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ “And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day. [Matthew 28:11-15 NASB]
When the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, He answered,
“An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." [Matthew 12:39-40 NASB]
Jesus fulfilled this sign by being in the tomb for three days.
The chief priests were confronted with proof that Jesus was who He claimed to be. His body didn't just disappear as if someone had sneaked in and taken it. There was an earthquake. An angel whose appearance was like lightning came down to the tomb and rolled away the stone. Jesus rose from the dead after three days.
The priests were so consumed by jealousy and hate that they refused to see truth, even when they were confronted with it. They hated Jesus so much that they denied God, whom they claimed to serve.
We see the same thing in modern politics. The liberals hate the conservatives and the conservatives hate the liberals.
The conservatives can't conceive that liberals have tender motivations. Nor that some of their ideals may be good. If it comes from the liberal camp, it can't be good.
The liberals are the same towards conservatives. The President is, particularly, the subject of their vitriol. He could end hunger and bring about world peace and they would still find fault.
If we're being honest, we know that there is good and bad on both sides of the argument. There are Christian conservatives and Christian liberals. There are evil conservatives and evil liberals.
What we see in the News and on social media are the extremes. I personally know Christians who will post on Facebook about God's love, then post the most vile, hate-filled political rant. I know non-Christians who do the same. I see it come from both liberals and conservatives. In their mind, there is no middle ground; no meeting of the minds; no compromise.
And in their actions and words, there is no love.
Very few can state why they believe as they do, nor why they support or oppose specific legislation; their reasoning is that they hate the party who proposed it.
Just as the priests and elders spun the news of Jesus' resurrection to their own ends, so we spin the news of the day to meet our own biases. We will not allow ourselves to be persuaded by mercy nor reason. Nor by the truth.
I don't have any answers for the political climate of America. But as an individual Christian, I know how to live because the truth is in the Bible. Jesus is my Lord. His Spirit lives within me. By His Spirit, I can have peace within myself, and live at peace with others. I can love others, and consider them as more important than myself.
I know that my first and highest priority is to love God, and worship Him.
When I consider my citizenship in the kingdom of God, and seek His kingdom first, then I don't get too bothered by the tensions of modern politics.
Let's pray for our nation and its leaders. Let's pray for the News outlets that they will be able to see and report the events of the news instead of their own political views. And let us pray for one anther, that we will be able to see our priorities properly; that is, Jesus and His kingdom first, then fellowship with the saints, then our mission to be a light to the world. Finally, considering others to be more important than ourselves, we consider our own life and sanctification.
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